It was the Chris Waller show at Wyong’s mid-week Metropolitan meeting, the master trainer posting three winners on the day.
The Gerald Ryan & Sterling Alexiou training partnership bagged a double, while jockeys Tim Clark and James McDonald both rode two winners.
Tim Clark got the party started early for punters in the opener, the 1350m 2YO, with short-priced favourite Just Party getting the job done.
Gerald Ryan’s Justify colt was sent out at $1.20 and the win never looked in doubt, with Clark giving him a super ride throughout.
The $110k yearling, was having his second start having been narrowly beaten at Newcastle on debut, and Ryan has a good opinion of him going forward.
“He got the job done and is still learning,” he said. “He’s a nice horse out of a G1 winning mare. Whatever he does now he’ll be a lot better as a three-year-old.”
Champion jockey James McDonald had no dramas riding the second favourite of the day, Ravenclaw to victory in the 1100m 3YO Maiden.
McDonald showed his class sitting off the leader in the early stages before giving the Harry Angel gelding his head in the straight and darting clear for a three-length win.
“It was a painless watch,” McDonald said. “He felt really good and is definitely a nice, progressive horse.”
The Chris Waller trained Ravenclaw ($1.70) had been runner up at three of his six previous runs, including a last start second on the Kensington track.
Double Cherry bucked the trend for the favourites, outstaying his rivals in the 2100m 3YO & UP BM78 returning $21.
Trainer Annabel Neasham had been running out of patience with the five-year-old import, who had been well beaten in all three Australian starts.
She changed up his training resume, putting him over the jumps and the move did the trick, with the gelding breaking through for his first Australian win ridden by Tom Sherry.
“We gave him a big cheer today,” Neasham said. “It was like he’d won a Group 1. The owners have been very patient and hopefully he will go on with it. I put him over the jumps, thinking we might head to Warrnambool but that’s changed now.”
Chris Waller brought up a double and trained the quinella in the 1600m 3YO & UP Maiden, when Bright Red stormed down the outside to snatch victory over stablemate Hartman on the line.
Waller had no qualms about stepping the Pierro filly up to the mile after she resumed over 1200m at Rosehill on February 28.
Ridden by Kerrin McEvoy, the stable believes Bright Red should only get better over more ground.
“We had an opinion of her early, but it’s taken time for her to switch on,” Chris Harwood said. “It was a nice win today but not a surprise. She’s quite adaptable and can relax well. With that turn of foot, it won’t be the last race she wins.”
Gerald Ryan was confident his filly Pajanti would be hard to beat and that’s how in panned out in the 1350m BM72 F&M 3YO & Up.
The $500k yearling made it back-to-back wins following her last start Rosehill victory, defying a betting drift to bring up her second career win at start five.
The victory bringing up a double for the Ryan/Alexiou stable and jockey Tim Clark.
“She worked terrific on Saturday morning, and I thought she’d be hard to beat,” Ryan said. “I was surprised she didn’t win last preparation, but she’s gone onwards and upwards since then.”
Chris Waller’s day out continued with McHale in the 1350m 3YO & Up BM78, the Shooting To Win gelding bringing up the stable’s treble.
Coming off a Warwick Farm win last start, the three-year-old earned strong support and was sent out second favourite, getting the job done courtesy of a great Tommy Berry ride.
McHale, who was a $160k yearling, has now posted three wins from just six starts and looks destined for much stronger races.
It was a rough result in the 1000m 3YO & Up BM78, with apprentice Molly Bourke riding tearaway leader and rank outsider No Statement to a dominant victory.
The Press Statement five-year-old, trained at Hawkesbury by Mike Van Gestel, was having his 52nd start and brought up win number 12.
The gelding pinged the gates and Bourke let him have his head early, leading the field by lengths and holding on to win by a length.
Raced by the Van Gestel family, No Statement returned $61.
Brett Cavanough’s race favourite Once Again My Girl bled for the second time and will now be retired.
A confident ride by James McDonald helped secure victory for Godolphin’s promising filly Commemorative in the 1200m BM72.
The daughter of I Am Invincible was resuming from a spell, having raced in black type races over the Melbourne Spring carnival.
Darren Beadman said they had been confident the filly would race well.
“She’s a big filly and has grown into her frame now. It all came a bit quick for her in her first preparation, but she had trialled well coming into this.”
The win brought up a double for James McDonald.
